The silver lining in Friday night’s game for the Cincinnati Reds? Rookie flamethrower Chase Burns made his return to the mound in Sacramento after missing over a month with a flexor strain in his right arm. Used in relief, Burns brought back his high-octane stuff—touching 100 mph and flashing his devastating slider—but unfortunately, the rest of the Reds didn’t give much to cheer about in a game they badly needed to win.
Cincinnati’s bats fell flat in a frustrating 3-0 loss to the Las Vegas-Oakland-Sacramento A’s, who belted three solo home runs—two off starter Brady Singer and one off Burns in his second inning of work. Burns looked dominant in his first inning, needing just 13 pitches to retire the side, but left a pitch up in his next frame that was taken deep.
Singer otherwise pitched well, giving the Reds six strong innings while allowing just the two solo shots.
Offensively, the Reds managed to reach base consistently, especially through small ball. TJ Friedl reached four times (two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a single), and leadoff man Will Benson even tripled thanks to a misplay under the lights by A’s outfielder JJ Bleday. In total, Cincinnati collected six hits and drew five walks—but they stranded runners inning after inning, failing to cash in on opportunity after opportunity.
Even when A’s starter JT Ginn left with an injury in the fifth inning, and the Reds faced a bullpen ranked near the bottom of the league in ERA and walk rate, they couldn’t make it count.
The timing of the loss made it even worse. With the New York Mets—one of the teams Cincinnati is chasing for a Wild Card spot—losing earlier that day, a win would’ve brought the Reds within a half-game of the playoffs. Instead, San Francisco leapfrogged them in the standings after a dramatic walk-off grand slam against the Dodgers.
Now, with just two weeks left in the season, the Reds find themselves down again, hoping they can capitalize offensively in what should be a hitter-friendly environment in Sacramento—before it’s too late.
